The disclosed embodiments generally relate to beverages with enhanced flavor and energizing effects, and methods and apparatuses for making the same.
The energizing effects of the caffeine in coffee and the pleasures associated with drinking coffee are well documented. Coffee has been cultivated, roasted and then brewed for centuries. Coffee beans vary considerably based on climate conditions, soil composition, sunlight, farming practices, moisture content, etc. Green coffee beans (unroasted) are typically grown in three varieties, including arabica, robusta, and liberica beans. Arabica beans are grown at higher elevations and typically ripen more slowly and have higher lipid content and a lower chlorogenic acid and caffeine content than Robusta beans, and are generally considered the higher quality beans for making coffee.
To increase coffee extraction and develop aroma and flavor in brewed coffee, green coffee beans are roasted. Roasting also creates considerable chemical changes in coffee beans. These changes can vary significantly based on roasting time and the degree of roasting, that is, the color of the resulting roasted coffee beans. Roasting also changes the flavors that may be derived from brewed coffee. For example, aromatic oils, acids, and caffeine content are decreased; while at certain temperatures other oils such as caffeol develop, increasing coffee's aroma and flavor. Darker roasts typically create smoother and robust coffees and lighter roasts typically have stronger and brighter flavors from higher acid and aromatic oil content due to a milder roasting.
Roasted coffee beans are then typically ground and brewed to create a beverage. The three most common brewing techniques include boiling ground coffee in water, steeping ground coffee in cold water, and pressure techniques such as espresso that operate at pressures as high as 14 times atmospheric pressure at sea level and at sub-boiling temperatures. It is conventionally understood that brewing at close to boiling temperatures or for too long of a period will brew a coffee with an undesirable burnt or cooked flavor, and is considered over-extracted. Due to the significant variations in cultivated coffees, roasted coffee beans, and brewing techniques, there is a considerable range in coffee quality and flavor made from combinations of each of these factors.